I'm currently interviewing for several positions that I feel are a bit out of my league coming from a non-top tier in LA with a B.S. in Finance. I decided to do finance with a goal of eventually being some fund manager at a HF and then going into VC. At the time, I knew nothing about the requirements of getting those big boy jobs at top firms. Other than that, here are some of the best positions I'm currently interviewing for and would like to rank them myself in advance prior to a potential offer.

I trade equities and am passionate about the financial markets, however, I'm not sure how the future looks like for trading with all the automation. Friend had this same HY trading associate position for 3.5 years at an AM, and is now a trader making $200k. Where can he go after? and hypothetically speaking if trading jobs die out, what other paths can he take after years of exp? If I try this out for a year or two and prefer banking, can I switch?

I also like research and had an ER internship. In terms of banking, I'm debating starting either at Wells for TMT Corporate Banking or a tech like Uber, which would give experience in the tech world (also passionate), move to tech venture banking > MBA > IB > HF > VC

I've done my research, however, I would like to know what you have to say about these. You can include hours, potential exit opps (position/institution), salary limits, roadblocks, your experience, feedback etc.